患有自闭症谱系障碍的幼儿的脑结构异常。

Brain structural abnormalities in young children with autism spectrum disorder.

作者信息

Sparks B F, Friedman S D, Shaw D W, Aylward E H, Echelard D, Artru A A, Maravilla K R, Giedd J N, Munson J, Dawson G, Dager S R

机构信息

Department of Radiology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98105, USA.

出版信息

Neurology. 2002 Jul 23;59(2):184-92. doi: 10.1212/wnl.59.2.184.

DOI:10.1212/wnl.59.2.184

PMID:12136055

Abstract

OBJECTIVE

To explore the specific gross neuroanatomic substrates of this brain developmental disorder, the authors examine brain morphometric features in a large sample of carefully diagnosed 3- to 4-year-old children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared with age-matched control groups of typically developing (TD) children and developmentally delayed (DD) children.

METHODS

Volumes of the cerebrum, cerebellum, amygdala, and hippocampus were measured from three-dimensional coronal MR images acquired from 45 children with ASD, 26 TD children, and 14 DD children. The volumes were analyzed with respect to age, sex, volume of the cerebrum, and clinical status.

RESULTS

Children with ASD were found to have significantly increased cerebral volumes compared with TD and DD children. Cerebellar volume for the ASD group was increased in comparison with the TD group, but this increase was proportional to overall increases in cerebral volume. The DD group had smaller cerebellar volumes compared with both of the other groups. Measurements of amygdalae and hippocampi in this group of young children with ASD revealed enlargement bilaterally that was proportional to overall increases in total cerebral volume. There were similar findings of cerebral enlargement for both girls and boys with ASD. For subregion analyses, structural abnormalities were observed primarily in boys, although this may reflect low statistical power issues because of the small sample (seven girls with ASD) studied. Among the ASD group, structural findings were independent of nonverbal IQ. In a subgroup of children with ASD with strictly defined autism, amygdalar enlargement was in excess of increased cerebral volume.

CONCLUSIONS

These structural findings suggest abnormal brain developmental processes early in the clinical course of autism. Research currently is underway to better elucidate mechanisms underlying these structural abnormalities and their longitudinal progression.

摘要

目的

为探究这种脑发育障碍的具体大体神经解剖学基础，作者对大量经过仔细诊断的3至4岁自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童的脑形态学特征进行了研究，并与年龄匹配的正常发育（TD）儿童和发育迟缓（DD）儿童对照组进行比较。

方法

从45名ASD儿童、26名TD儿童和14名DD儿童获取的三维冠状面磁共振图像中测量大脑、小脑、杏仁核和海马体的体积。对这些体积数据进行年龄、性别、大脑体积和临床状态方面的分析。

结果

发现ASD儿童的大脑体积相比于TD儿童和DD儿童显著增加。ASD组的小脑体积相比于TD组有所增加，但这种增加与大脑体积的总体增加成比例。DD组的小脑体积比其他两组都小。对这组患有ASD的幼儿的杏仁核和海马体测量显示双侧增大，且与大脑总体积的增加成比例。患有ASD的女孩和男孩都有类似的大脑增大发现。对于亚区域分析，主要在男孩中观察到结构异常，不过这可能反映了由于所研究样本量小（7名患有ASD的女孩）导致的统计效力不足问题。在ASD组中，结构发现与非言语智商无关。在一组严格定义为自闭症的ASD儿童亚组中，杏仁核增大超过大脑体积的增加。